Question

A ladder is placed against the side of a house. The top of the ladder is 12 feet above the ground. The base of the ladder is 5 feet away from the house. Find the length of the ladder.

Answer 1

This is the Pythagorean theorem where the 2 legs of a triangle squared add up to equal the squared hypotenuse (a^2 + b^2 = c^2)

The equation would be
12^2 + 5^2 = x^2

144 + 25 = 169

The square root of 169 = 13

Answer - 13 ft